| 22a. משמשת וראתה נדה אינה צריכה טבילה אבל בעל קרי גרידא מחייב לא תימא מברך אלא מהרהר,ומי אית ליה לרבי יהודה הרהור והתניא בעל קרי שאין לו מים לטבול קורא קריאת שמע ואינו מברך לא לפניה ולא לאחריה ואוכל פתו ומברך לאחריה ואינו מברך לפניה אבל מהרהר בלבו ואינו מוציא בשפתיו דברי רבי מאיר רבי יהודה אומר בין כך ובין כך מוציא בשפתיו,אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק עשאן ר' יהודה כהלכות דרך ארץ,דתניא (דברים ד, ט) והודעתם לבניך ולבני בניך וכתיב בתריה יום אשר עמדת לפני ה' אלהיך בחורב מה להלן באימה וביראה וברתת ובזיע אף כאן באימה וביראה וברתת ובזיע,מכאן אמרו הזבים והמצורעים ובאין על נדות מותרים לקרות בתורה ובנביאים ובכתובים לשנות במשנה וגמרא ובהלכות ובאגדות אבל בעלי קריין אסורים,רבי יוסי אומר שונה הוא ברגיליות ובלבד שלא יציע את המשנה רבי יונתן בן יוסף אומר מציע הוא את המשנה ואינו מציע את הגמרא רבי נתן בן אבישלום אומר אף מציע את הגמרא ובלבד שלא יאמר אזכרות שבו רבי יוחנן הסנדלר תלמידו של רבי עקיבא משום ר"ע אומר לא יכנס למדרש כל עיקר ואמרי לה לא יכנס לבית המדרש כל עיקר ר' יהודה אומר שונה הוא בהלכות דרך ארץ,מעשה ברבי יהודה שראה קרי והיה מהלך על גב הנהר אמרו לו תלמידיו רבינו שנה לנו פרק אחד בהלכות דרך ארץ ירד וטבל ושנה להם אמרו לו לא כך למדתנו רבינו שונה הוא בהלכות דרך ארץ אמר להם אע"פ שמיקל אני על אחרים מחמיר אני על עצמי:,תניא ר' יהודה בן בתירא היה אומר אין דברי תורה מקבלין טומאה מעשה בתלמיד אחד שהיה מגמגם למעלה מרבי יהודה בן בתירא אמר ליה בני פתח פיך ויאירו דבריך שאין דברי תורה מקבלין טומאה שנאמר (ירמיהו כג, כט) הלא כה דברי כאש נאם ה' מה אש אינו מקבל טומאה אף דברי תורה אינן מקבלין טומאה,אמר מר מציע את המשנה ואינו מציע את הגמרא מסייע ליה לרבי אלעאי דאמר רבי אלעאי אמר ר' אחא בר יעקב משום רבינו הלכה מציע את המשנה ואינו מציע את הגמרא כתנאי מציע את המשנה ואינו מציע את הגמרא דברי רבי מאיר רבי יהודה בן גמליאל אומר משום רבי חנינא בן גמליאל זה וזה אסור ואמרי לה זה וזה מותר,מ"ד זה וזה אסור כרבי יוחנן הסנדלר מ"ד זה וזה מותר כרבי יהודה בן בתירא,אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק נהוג עלמא כהני תלת סבי כרבי אלעאי בראשית הגז כרבי יאשיה בכלאים כרבי יהודה בן בתירא בד"ת,כרבי אלעאי בראשית הגז דתניא רבי אלעאי אומר ראשית הגז אינו נוהג אלא בארץ,כרבי יאשיה בכלאים כדכתיב (דברים כב, ט) (כרמך) לא תזרע [כרמך] כלאים רבי יאשיה אומר לעולם אינו חייב עד שיזרע חטה ושעורה וחרצן במפולת יד,כרבי יהודה בן בתירא בדברי תורה דתניא רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר אין דברי תורה מקבלין טומאה,כי אתא זעירי אמר בטלוה לטבילותא ואמרי לה בטלוה לנטילותא מאן דאמר בטלוה לטבילותא כרבי יהודה בן בתירא מאן דאמר בטלוה לנטילותא כי הא דרב חסדא לייט אמאן דמהדר אמיא בעידן צלותא:,תנו רבנן בעל קרי שנתנו עליו תשעה קבין מים טהור נחום איש גם זו לחשה לרבי עקיבא ורבי עקיבא לחשה לבן עזאי ובן עזאי יצא ושנאה לתלמידיו בשוק פליגי בה תרי אמוראי במערבא רבי יוסי בר אבין ורבי יוסי בר זבידא חד תני שנאה וחד תני לחשה,מאן דתני שנאה משום בטול תורה ומשום בטול פריה ורביה ומאן דתני לחשה שלא יהו תלמידי חכמים מצויים אצל נשותיהם כתרנגולים,אמר רבי ינאי שמעתי שמקילין בה ושמעתי שמחמירין בה וכל המחמיר בה על עצמו מאריכין לו ימיו ושנותיו,אמר ריב"ל מה טיבן של טובלי שחרין מה טיבן הא איהו דאמר בעל קרי אסור בדברי תורה הכי קאמר מה טיבן בארבעים סאה אפשר בתשעה קבין מה טיבן בטבילה אפשר בנתינה,אמר רבי חנינא גדר גדול גדרו בה דתניא מעשה באחד שתבע אשה לדבר עבירה אמרה לו ריקא יש לך ארבעים סאה שאתה טובל בהן מיד פירש,אמר להו רב הונא לרבנן רבותי מפני מה אתם מזלזלין בטבילה זו אי משום צינה אפשר במרחצאות,אמר ליה רב חסדא וכי יש טבילה בחמין אמר ליה רב אדא בר אהבה קאי כוותך,רבי זירא הוה יתיב באגנא דמיא בי מסותא אמר ליה לשמעיה זיל ואייתי לי תשעה קבין ושדי עלואי אמר ליה רבי חייא בר אבא למה ליה למר כולי האי והא יתיב בגווייהו אמר ליה כארבעים סאה מה ארבעים סאה בטבילה ולא בנתינה אף תשעה קבין בנתינה ולא בטבילה,רב נחמן תקן חצבא בת תשעה קבין כי אתא רב דימי אמר רבי עקיבא ורבי יהודה גלוסטרא אמרו לא שנו אלא לחולה לאונסו אבל לחולה המרגיל ארבעים סאה,אמר רב יוסף אתבר חצביה דרב נחמן כי אתא רבין אמר באושא הוה עובדא | 22a. that b a woman who engaged in intercourse and saw menstrual /b blood b is not required to immerse herself, but one who experienced a seminal emission alone, /b with no concurrent impurity, b is required to do so? /b If so, we must interpret Rabbi Yehuda’s statement in the mishna that one recites a blessing both beforehand and thereafter as follows: b Do not say /b that one b recites a blessing /b orally, but rather he means that b one contemplates /b those blessings in his heart.,The Gemara challenges this explanation: b And does Rabbi Yehuda maintain that /b there is validity to b contemplating /b in his heart? b Wasn’t it taught /b in a i baraita /i : b One who experienced a seminal emission and who has no water to immerse /b and purify himself b recites i Shema /i and neither recites the blessings /b of i Shema /i b beforehand nor thereafter? And /b when b he eats his bread, he recites the blessing thereafter, /b Grace after Meals, b but does not recite the blessing: /b Who brings forth bread from the earth, b beforehand. However, /b in the instances where he may not recite the blessing, b he contemplates /b it b in his heart rather than utter /b it b with his lips, /b this is b the statement of Rabbi Meir. /b However b Rabbi Yehuda says: In either case, he utters /b all of the blessings b with his lips. /b Rabbi Yehuda does not consider contemplating the blessings in his heart a solution and permits them to be recited., b Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: /b Rabbi Yehuda’s statement in the mishna should be interpreted in another way. b Rabbi Yehuda rendered /b the blessings b like i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i , /b which according to some Sages were not considered to be in the same category as all other matters of Torah and therefore, one is permitted to engage in their study even after having experienced a seminal emission., b As it was taught /b in a i baraita /i : It is written: b “And you shall impart them to your children and your children’s children” /b (Deuteronomy 4:9), b and it is written thereafter: “The day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb” /b (Deuteronomy 4:10). b Just as below, /b the Revelation at Sinai was b in reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling, so too here, /b in every generation, Torah must be studied with a sense of b reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. /b , b From here /b the Sages b stated: i Zavim /i , lepers, and those who engaged in intercourse with menstruating women, /b despite their severe impurity, b are permitted to read the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, and to study Mishna and Gemara and i halakhot /i and i aggada /i . However, those who experienced a seminal emission are prohibited /b from doing so. The reason for this distinction is that the cases of severe impurity are caused by ailment or other circumstances beyond his control and, as a result, they do not necessarily preclude a sense of reverence and awe as he studies Torah. This, however, is not the case with regard to impurity resulting from a seminal emission, which usually comes about due to frivolity and a lack of reverence and awe. Therefore, it is inappropriate for one who experiences a seminal emission to engage in matters of in Torah.,However, there are many opinions concerning the precise parameters of the Torah matters prohibited by this decree. b Rabbi Yosei says: /b One who experiences a seminal emission b studies /b i mishnayot /i that he is b accustomed /b to study, b as long as he does not expound upon a /b new b mishna /b to study it in depth. b Rabbi Yonatan ben Yosef says: He expounds upon the mishna but he does not expound upon the Gemara, /b which is the in-depth analysis of the Torah. b Rabbi Natan ben Avishalom says: He may even expound upon the Gemara, as long as he does not utter /b the b mentions /b of God’s name b therein. Rabbi Yoḥa the Cobbler, Rabbi Akiva’s student, says in the name of Rabbi Akiva: /b One who experiences a seminal emission b may not enter into homiletic interpretation [ i midrash /i ] /b of verses b at all. Some say /b that he says: b He may not enter the study hall [ i beit hamidrash /i ] at all. Rabbi Yehuda says: He may study /b only b i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i . /b In terms of the problem raised above, apparently Rabbi Yehuda considers the legal status of the blessings to be parallel to the legal status of i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i , and therefore one may utter them orally.,The Gemara relates b an incident involving Rabbi Yehuda /b himself, who b experienced a seminal emission and was walking along the riverbank /b with his disciples. b His disciples said to him: Rabbi, teach us a chapter from i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i , /b as he maintained that even in a state of impurity, it is permitted. b He descended and immersed himself /b in the river b and taught them /b i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i . b They said to him: Did you not teach us, our teacher, that he may study i Hilkhot Derekh Eretz /i ? He said to them: Although I am lenient with others, /b and allow them to study it without immersion, b I am stringent with myself. /b ,Further elaborating on the issue of Torah study while in a state of impurity, b it was taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira would say: Matters of Torah do not become ritually impure /b and therefore one who is impure is permitted to engage in Torah study. He implemented this i halakha /i in practice. The Gemara relates b an incident involving a student who was /b reciting i mishnayot /i and i baraitot /i b hesitantly before /b the study hall of b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira. /b The student experienced a seminal emission, and when he was asked to recite he did so in a rushed, uneven manner, as he did not want to utter the words of Torah explicitly. Rabbi Yehuda b said to him: My son, open your mouth and let your words illuminate, as matters of Torah do not become ritually impure, as it is stated: “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord” /b (Jeremiah 23:29). b Just as fire does not become ritually impure, so too matters of Torah do not become ritually impure. /b ,In this i baraita /i b the Master said /b that one who is impure because of a seminal emission b expounds upon the mishna but does not expound upon the Gemara. /b The Gemara notes: This statement b supports /b the opinion of b Rabbi El’ai, /b as b Rabbi El’ai said /b that b Rabbi Aḥa bar Ya’akov said in the name of Rabbeinu, /b Rav b : The /b i halakha /i is that one who experienced a seminal emission b may expound upon the mishna but may not expound upon the Gemara. /b This dispute b is parallel a tannaitic /b dispute, as it was taught: One who experienced a seminal emission b expounds upon the mishna but does not expound upon the Gemara; /b that is b the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda ben Gamliel says in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel: /b Both b this and that are prohibited. And some say /b that he said: Both b this and that are permitted. /b ,Comparing these opinions: b The one who said /b that both b this and that are prohibited /b holds b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yoḥa the Cobbler; the one who said /b that both b this and that are permitted /b holds b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira. /b ,Summarizing the i halakha /i , b Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: The universally /b accepted b practice is in accordance with /b the opinions of b these three elders: In accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi El’ai with regard to /b the i halakhot /i of b the first shearing, in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yoshiya with regard to /b the laws of prohibited b diverse kinds, /b and b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira with regard to matters of Torah. /b ,The Gemara elaborates: b In accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi El’ai with regard to the first shearing, as it was taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi El’ai says: /b The obligation to set aside b the first shearing /b from the sheep for the priest b is only practiced in Eretz /b Yisrael and not in the Diaspora, and that is the accepted practice., b In accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yoshiya with regard to diverse kinds, as it is written: “You shall not sow your vineyard with diverse kinds” /b (Deuteronomy 22:9). b Rabbi Yoshiya says: /b This means that b one /b who sows diverse kinds b is not liable /b by Torah law b until he sows wheat and barley and a /b grape b pit with a single hand motion, /b meaning that while sowing in the vineyard he violates the prohibition of diverse kinds that applies to seeds and to the vineyard simultaneously., b In accordance with Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira with regard to /b one who experiences a seminal emission is permitted to engage in b matters of Torah, as it was taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: Matters of Torah do not become ritually impure. /b ,And the Gemara relates: b When Ze’iri came /b from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, b he /b succinctly capsulated this i halakha /i and b said: They abolished ritual immersion, and some say that /b he said: b They abolished ritual washing of the hands. /b The Gemara explains: b The one who says /b that b they abolished immersion /b holds in accordance with the opinion of b Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira /b that one who experienced a seminal emission is not required to immerse. b And the one who says /b that b they abolished washing of the hands /b holds b in accordance with that which Rav Ḥisda cursed one who /b goes out of his way b to seek water at the time of prayer. /b , b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : b One who experienced a seminal emission who had nine i kav /i of /b drawn b water poured over him, /b that is sufficient to render him b ritually pure /b and he need not immerse himself in a ritual bath. The Gemara relates: b Naḥum of Gam Zo whispered /b this i halakha /i to b Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Akiva whispered it to /b his student b ben Azzai, and ben Azzai went out and taught it to his students /b publicly b in the marketplace. Two i amora’im /i in Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei bar Zevida, disagreed /b as to the correct version of the conclusion of the incident. b One taught: /b Ben Azzai b taught it /b to his students in the market. b And the other taught: Ben Azzai /b also b whispered it /b to his students.,The Gemara explains the rationale behind the two versions of this incident. b The /b Sage b who taught /b that ben Azzai b taught /b the law openly in the market held that the leniency was b due to /b concern that the i halakhot /i requiring ritual immersion would promote b dereliction /b in the study b of Torah. /b The ruling of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira eases the way for an individual who experienced a seminal emission to study Torah. This was b also due to /b concern that the i halakhot /i requiring ritual immersion would promote b the suspension of procreation, /b as one might abstain from marital relations to avoid the immersion required thereafter. b And the /b Sage, b who taught /b that ben Azzai only b whispered /b this i halakha /i to his students, held that he did so b in order that Torah scholars would not be with their wives like roosters. /b If the purification process was that simple, Torah scholars would engage in sexual activity constantly, which would distract them from their studies.,With regard to this ritual immersion, b Rabbi Yannai said: I heard that there are those who are lenient with regard to it and I have heard that there are those who are stringent with regard to it. /b The i halakha /i in this matter was never conclusively established b and anyone who /b accepts b upon himself to be stringent with regard to it, they prolong for him his days and years. /b ,The Gemara relates that b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: What is the essence of those who immerse themselves in the morning? /b The Gemara retorts: How can one ask b what is their essence? Isn’t he /b the one b who said /b that b one who experiences a seminal emission is prohibited from /b engaging in b matters of Torah /b and is required to immerse himself in the morning? Rather, b this is /b what b he /b meant to b say: What is the essence of /b immersion in a ritual bath of b forty i se’a /i /b of water when b it is possible /b to purify oneself b with nine i kav /i ? /b Furthermore, b what is the essence of immersion /b when b it is /b also b possible /b to purify oneself by b pouring /b water?,Regarding this, b Rabbi Ḥanina said: They established a massive fence /b protecting one from sinning with their decree that one must immerse himself in forty i se’a /i of water. b As it was taught /b in a i baraita /i : There was b an incident involving one who solicited a woman to /b commit b a sinful act. She said to him: Good-for-nothing. Do you have forty i se’a /i in which to immerse /b and purify b yourself /b afterwards? He b immediately desisted. /b The obligation to immerse oneself caused individuals to refrain from transgression., b Rav Huna said to the Sages: Gentlemen, why do you disdain this immersion? If it is because /b it is difficult for you to immerse in the b cold /b waters of the ritual bath, b it is possible /b to purify oneself by immersing oneself in the heated b bathhouses, /b which are unfit for immersion for other forms of ritual impurity but are fit for immersion in this case., b Rabbi Ḥisda said to him: Is there ritual immersion in hot water? /b Rav Huna b said to him: /b Indeed, doubts with regard to the fitness of baths have been raised, and b Rav Adda bar Ahava holds in accordance with your /b opinion. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that it is permitted.,The Gemara relates: b Rabbi Zeira was sitting in a tub of water in the bathhouse. He said to his attendant: Go and get nine i kav /i /b of water b and pour /b it b over me /b so that I may purify myself from the impurity caused by a seminal emission. b Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to him: Why does my master /b require b all of this? Aren’t you seated in /b at least nine i kav /i of water in the tub. b He said to him: /b The law of nine i kav /i b parallels /b the law of b forty i se’a /i , /b in that their i halakhot /i are exclusive. b Just as forty i se’a /i /b can only purify an individual through b immersion and not through pouring, so too nine i kav /i /b can only purify one who experienced a seminal emission b through pouring and not through immersion. /b ,The Gemara relates that b Rav Naḥman prepared a jug /b with a capacity b of nine i kav /i /b so that his students could pour water over themselves and become pure. b When Rav Dimi came /b from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, b he said: Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehuda Gelostera said: /b The i halakha /i that one who experienced a seminal emission can be purified by pouring nine i kav /i b was only taught for a sick person /b who experienced the emission b involuntarily. However, a sick person /b who experienced a b normal /b seminal emission in the course of marital relations, is required to immerse himself in b forty i se’a /i . /b , b Rav Yosef said: /b In that case, b Rav Naḥman’s jug is broken, /b meaning it is no longer of any use, as few people fall into the category of sick people who experienced seminal emissions. Nevertheless, b when Ravin came /b from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia b he said: In Usha there was an incident /b |
